Forest vs Malmö, Rangers vs Braga, and Additional – UEFA Europa League Coverage
Match Coverage
Key Events
- Match ended: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
- Score!: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
- Match concluded: Celtic 3-1 Feyenoord
- Team news: Forest and Malmö lineups
- Team news: Rangers v Braga teams!
- Preamble
Current Table
The initial outcomes have significant impact on the Europa League table. Celtic have moved up to 17th place and returned to the protected qualification spots.
| Position | Side | Played | Goal Difference | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midtjylland | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| 3 | Freiburg | 5 | 5 | 11 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 17 | Celtic | 5 | -1 | 7 |
| 25 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 35 | Rangers | 4 | -7 | 0 |
| 33 | Malmo FF | 4 | -5 | 1 |
Full-time: Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys
The English side clung on for the three points and became tied on points with front-runners Midtjylland at the peak of the group rankings. The Birmingham club struggled of that at the end.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Young Boys (Joël Monteiro 90+1)
Young Boys earned a lifeline through Monteiro but only have four more minutes to score the leveler!
Full-time: Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic
A significant and important win for the Celtic. Even after falling 1-0 down, Celtic roared back with goals from Yang, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren.
Match Updates
The Birmingham side, at the same time, retained a 2-0 lead over Young Boys with roughly 300 seconds left at their home ground.
Malen's second goal there caused dramatic events in the away end, with Young Boys supporters engaging with police. Physical altercations occurred and items launched at both the officers and at the playing surface, with Malen himself being hit on the head by a drinking vessel.
Lineups: Forest vs Malmö
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abbott, Milenkovic, Murillo, The full-back, Yates, Sangare, Dominguez, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi, Kalimuendo.
The Swedish side: Ellborg, Larsen, Jansson, Duric, Rosler, Haksabanovic, Johnsen, Skogmar, The attacker, Gudjohnsen, The striker.
Referee: Osmers (German)
Team News: Rangers v Braga
The Glasgow side: The goalkeeper, Tavernier, Fernandez, Djiga, The full-back, Barron, Diomande, Raskin, The attacker, The forward, The striker.
The Arsenalistas: The goalkeeper, Gomez, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Zalazar, Joao Moutinho, Gorby, Martinez, Navarro, Ricardo Horta.
Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)
Match Background
Nottingham Forest v Malmö and historical connections. The two clubs have a historical link, also facing each other in Forest's last European campaign in the UEFA Cup of 1995-96, but it is the premier competition final decades past that entwines these two together, with the groundbreaking transfer Trevor Francis scoring the winner of a pretty miserable final to claim legendary status for the Forest supporters.
"The legendary management duo, grey-sweatered and anonymous amid all the colour and celebration, stood for a moment on a bench calmly observing the revelry," wrote the match reporter. Their achievement was an extraordinary accomplishment that it is unlikely to be replicated – from Second Division to European football in a short period."
One should note to reflect upon Malmö, who became the first, and to date the last Scandinavian side to reach the final under British coach Houghton.
The current fixture is a very different to that pinnacle, closer perhaps to the earlier European encounter between Forest and Malmö in 1995-96. Forest are absolutely buzzing after beating Liverpool 3-0 at the famous ground on Saturday, while Malmö haven't played officially since 9 November following the completion of Allsvenskan. The popular prediction is on the Forest tonight.
Numerous other matches on offer in this clockwatch. The Glasgow club have already been defeated by a Braga this season. Rangers are rock bottom of the 36-team Europa League standings at the middle of the initial phase with exactly zero. They urgently require a victory if they are to have any chance of achieving a late surge for a knockout position.
Coverage will persist with all the evening matches and provide the current standings from the earlier matches, including Aston Villa v Young Boys and Rotterdam vs Glasgow.
